Love Eternal
by kirallie
Summary: Adopted. When Jacob pushed Bella away she ran from Forks. A hundred years later the Cullen's see someone very familiar. But can it be her?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or Highlander. If I did Richie would not have lost his head.  
__AU for both. Obviously Richie didn't die.  
__Most of my Highlander knowledge comes from fanfics and the movies. With Twilight I've read the books and seen the movies. So if anything is way off let me know. This is my first try at a Twilight fic so I hope I do okay._

**Chapter 1**

_"Go home, Bella. I can't hang out with you anymore."  
_"_If that were the case, I'd say 'Let's stay friends.' I can't even say that."  
__"I'm not good enough to be your friend anymore, or anything else. I'm not what I was before. I'm not good."  
__"I'm sorry, Bella."_

Jacob's words whirled around in her mind as Bella drove through the rain. First Edward and now him. Why? Why did they have to do that to her? The hole that Jacob had been holding together was ripped open again except now it had been joined by another one. She bit back a sob and slammed the brakes, the truck sliding slightly on the wet pavement from the sudden stop. Bella let her head drop down onto the steering wheel as harsh agonised sobs were torn from her chest. She sat back and smashed her hands against the wheel before staring at the hole where the truck's stereo had once been. Her jaw clenched as she made her decision. She threw the truck into gear and headed for the highway. Forks had brought her nothing but pain and there was nothing really left there for her anymore. Charlie would adapt, he'd lived alone before. She didn't know where she was going yet but anywhere had to be better. She'd show them, she didn't either of them anymore.

* * *

Edward looked at his phone as it began to ring before finally deciding to answer it.

"What is it Alice?"

"It's Bella, she's gone."

* * *

Edward watched from the woods as Charlie lashed out verbally at the Black's, blaming them for Bella's vanishing. He couldn't help but wince as the way he had left was brought up and then wished he could cry as he saw what Bella had gone through after he had abandoned her in the woods in Charlie's mind. He'd done it to protect her and in the end all he'd done was destroy the one person in the world he loved more than anything.

"There's nothing we can do here son." He looked up at the sound of Carlisle's calm voice.

"This is all my fault." He whispered, ignoring Carlisle's hand as it came to rest on his shoulder.

"You didn't know this would happen, none of us did. But we have a better chance than they do of finding her. I know Alice is quite keen to look for her. You can't undo the damage but maybe you can help heal it." Edward finally looked up at his father and nodded slowly.

"I'll find her, no matter how long it takes I won't stop looking." He swore and Carlisle nodded.

"You won't be alone." With that they left to rejoin the rest of their family.

* * *

Edward parked the car and they all got out, ready for their first day at a new college. He didn't want to be there, he wanted to be out looking for Bella but Esme had finally convinced him to settle with them and search at night and the days when they couldn't attend school due to the sun. None of his family had to say it out loud or even think it but he knew they thought his search was hopeless now, Bella was human and therefore dead of old age by now. They had left Washington years ago since they doubted she had remained in the state. They had travelled around America but had moved across the border a year ago to Vancouver, using the larger number of people to blend in. The greater number of sunny days would be annoying to their ability to appear normal but it would give him more time to search. But would he even know his beloved Bella if he was to see her? In his mind he could still her as clearly as he if she was in front of him but if he saw her now she would be so old. But her scent would still be the same and her eyes, the eyes that showed her soul. He didn't care about how much older than him she would look now as long as he could see her again, know that she was safe and happy even if she had finally moved past him. He just prayed he would never find her tombstone.

* * *

Betha Dawson got out of her car and stared at the building in front of her. She really didn't want to be here but Methos and Duncan were right. If she wanted to try and stay somewhere and work in a good job then she needed to attend college again, her transcripts were getting a bit old now. It wasn't her fault she still looked eighteen when she was actually one hundred and eighteen. But truthfully she was kind of sick of either high school or working from home. Going to college again would be a nice change of pace....who was she trying to fool? Applying for college just brought back memories she didn't want to acknowledge even after all this time. All her plans with Edward...

The memories of her mortal life had never ceased to plague her though the pain had eventually faded. She sometimes wondered what would have happened if Methos hadn't seen her truck off the side of the road or felt her slowly strengthening Quickening. Would she have gone back to Forks, believing that running was no longer the way or would she have still left and then lost her head to some roving hunter? Instead Methos had become her teacher and a second father, Duncan her uncle, Joe her grandfather and Richie her annoying older brother. She missed Joe fiercely since the Watcher had finally succumbed to old age, more than her own parents in some ways. It was part of the reason she'd taken his name though she'd used it once before, shortly after he died since he'd left a few things to his 'niece' Isabella Dawson. She'd been a Ryan and Pierce too over the years. Though she refused to be a McLeod, too much legend attached to that name for her liking. She preferred her head firmly attached to her neck.

But now she was Betha Dawson, first year student in the History department of the University of British Colombia. It felt odd being out on her own without any of the others but after one hundred years of playing sister, daughter, cousin it was time to spread her wings. She's already found the easiest areas of Holy Ground to get to if needed and met up with the only local Immortal that wasn't interested in fighting to the death. Nick was an okay guy but preferred to be a loner and that was fine with her, she'd only met up with him as a courtesy so he wouldn't worry if he sensed her one day.

She had an adorable little apartment all to herself only three blocks away from not only her part time job but her classes and a very nice bike courtesy of Richie. Duncan had had a fit when he'd seen it but Methos had just laughed at the reminder of how uncoordinated she used to be. The apartment even had a spare room that she had converted to a workout room with some equipment but mostly open space to practise.

Bella was very different from the girl who had moved to Forks so many years ago. For starters her hair was now almost as short as Alice's had been and she'd added blond highlights to it. She'd filled out as well due to the relentless exercise routines she'd been pushed through in the beginning and now kept up to stay fighting fit. Dresses and skirts were not a part of her wardrobe, not that she'd ever worn many, but it was too hard to hide a sword with one. She stuck to jeans and casual shirts with her trusty leather jacket thrown over the top. It was hot in summer but made it so much easier to hide the sword. And as Betha Dawson she wore a pair of lightweight glasses that were actually fake but they helped make her look different to Liz Pierce, her previous identity. The shorter hair helped too as did the slight French accent she'd learnt when Methos had taken his little sister to Paris thirty years ago.

So now she was in Vancouver on her own and ready to start a degree in history. Even Richie had fallen back on studying the past a few times because it was one of the easiest ways to hide. After all a person who studied history was expected to know a lot about the past so it made covering up any slips a lot easier. Now if only she could find her first class, Civil War History. She'd hesitated over taking the class but it was that or early twenty first Century America and that was still too painful a time period. In a way study the civil war was a way to remind herself of the Cullen's. Maybe Jasper would even be mentioned?

* * *

Sitting in class, surrounded by two hundred humans was sheer torture. But torture he'd endure for his dear Alice. She was so proud of how far his control had come since Forks that he didn't want to disappoint her by ever slipping up again. His last slip had nearly destroyed their family and had made Edward beyond miserable. It hurt to be around his brother most of the time and Edward refused to let him try and help make him feel better.

Jasper had hated himself for a while after Bella's party, hated himself for the pain he'd caused his wife and brother and for the pain he knew Bella must have felt when they'd left her behind. He was past that now but he still carried around the guilt for attacking the poor girl. He'd been so strong during the mess with James that he'd thought he could handle it only to be proved wrong. Bella had been like a breath of fresh air in their family and had made Edward so happy. He just wished Edward would accept that she was dead by now.

He shifted in his seat to look more human and then froze as a familiar scent hit him. He breathed it in and stared in shock at the door as a young woman walked into the theatre. It couldn't be! But it smelt exactly like her. How could Bella be here, alive, and not a vampire. For a split second he'd thought maybe she'd been changed by someone but no, her scent was not that of one of his kind. Straining to see her since she'd moved to the other side of the room and there was a column blocking him, he took in her appearance. Hair almost as short as his Alice's and highlighted with blond, casual clothes and glasses? It couldn't really be Bella, a descendant maybe? But then how could she have the exact same scent? He watched as she turned to the person behind her and their eyes met.

Bella gasped as she locked gazes with familiar butterscotch eyes. No...it couldn't be. After so long?

"Jasper." She whispered and watched his eyes go wide. What were the odds? Now the only question was leave him to his misery for two hours or skip class and hope he followed? Then again, did she owe him anything? Looking up at him across the room and seeing the confusion and almost fear made her decision for her. She grabbed her bag and headed for the door, tilting her head at him.

Jasper watched her get up and then followed a few seconds later, staying at a distance as she led the way outside and into a shadowed alley. He hesitated and then followed her in. She shifted slightly and gave him a nervous smile, dropping her bag. He could feel her emotions and they were all over the place.

"Hello Jasper." It was Bella's voice, exactly the way he remembered and without the slight French accent he'd detected in the lecture theatre.

"Bella?" He asked and she nodded.  
"But how? What are you? You're not one of us."

"No, and it turns out it wouldn't have worked if Edward had agreed to change me. Is he...are the others?" She asked and he was hit with a wave a grief as strong as anything he'd felt off his brother.

"They're in the city." Was all he was willing to give for now. She smiled softly and nodded.

"I never blamed you Jasper, for what happened. It wasn't your fault." Bella suddenly said and he stared at her in shock, sure Edward had told him but he'd never truly believed him.  
"There's a park two blocks away. Nine tonight and I'll tell you all how." With that she slipped past him and vanished into the crowds.

_TBC...?  
__Any good?_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I don't own them.  
__Thank you for the encouraging reviews. _

**Chapter 2**

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid! She should be running not arranging to meet them! Hadn't they hurt her enough for even an immortal lifetime? They would only meet her to determine what she was and if she was a threat. They'd made it perfectly clear they didn't care about her when they'd left Forks. She must be a glutton for pain. She'd worked so hard to move on from what the Cullen's and then Jacob had done to her and yet here she was asking for more hurt.

When Edward had left her it had almost destroyed her, it had been Jacob who had picked up the shattered pieces and held them together for a short time and then he'd turned her away too. After that running had seemed her only option, running from the pain, from the memories. And now she was going to see him? To see the boy who had ripped her heart out? A hundred years later and she still hadn't dated once. Richie had tried at first but they were better suited as siblings and she had been too much of a mess back then for anything else. She loved Richie, would die to protect him, but she wasn't in love with him and he knew it. He'd been so excited that she finally felt ready to be out on her own. Could she really run back there so soon? She knew Richie would welcome her back with open arms but she couldn't rely on him for everything.

So what she do? Run and hope they didn't track her scent back to the others or stay and face the consequences? The old Bella would have run but she was an immortal and over a hundred years old. She refused to run. She would face the vampires she once considered family and she would lock her heart away so they could never hurt her again.

* * *

Jasper paced the room, not even paying any attention to a worried Alice. After Bella had left he'd messaged everyone had gone straight home. Now they were only waiting for Carlisle to get back from the hospital. He was constantly forcing himself to go over one of his favourite books to keep Edward from seeing what had happened. The last thing they needed was Edward running off alone to find her.

Jasper finally stopped pacing as the front door opened and Carlisle entered, hanging his coat up and going to his wife's side to give her a gentle kiss. He then turned to his children and focused on Jasper.

"What happened Jasper?" Carlisle asked gently. Jasper took an unneeded breath and then began to speak.

"I was in my civil war class when a scent hit me, a very familiar scent. It belonged to a young woman and she took a seat on the opposite side of the theatre. She turned to talk to someone and saw me. I was too shocked to do anything until she said my name and then left. I followed her of campus and into an alley...it's Bella. She's not one of us but she looks no older than the last time I saw her. I asked her what she was and she said to meet her in the park near campus tonight, all of us." Jasper finished and Alice gasped.

"I didn't see this. Why didn't I see this?" Jasper pulled her into his arms, trying to comfort her. He looked over to Edward as he was hit by a wave of grief, longing and hope. Edward's face was frozen blank but you couldn't fool an empath.

"How?" Edward whispered.

"I don't know." Jasper answered.

"Are you sure it wasn't just someone who looks like her?" Emmett asked even though he knew it couldn't be.

"No. Her scent was exactly the same and as soon as she saw me she whispered Jasper. She looks a bit different, her hairs almost as short as Alice's now but it was Bella. I looked up the class enrolment though and she 's going by Betha Dawson now." Jasper told them.

"So we're going right? I can't believe she's alive!" Alice had perked back up making Jasper smile at her.

"What if it's some sort of trap?" Rosalie pointed out harshly.  
"She can't be human and still be alive."

"I'm going." Edward stated and then left for his room.

* * *

Edward stared sightlessly at the picture in his hand. It had been taken the night of the prom. Bella had still been in her cast but had been stunning none the less. He should never have left her. When she'd vanished without a trace he'd thrown himself into the search and then her truck had been found. Wrecked in a ditch off the highway and with blood in the cabin yet there had been no sign of Bella. He knew the others had begun to believe she was probably dead then and Alice had never had another vision of her but he had clung to the belief that she was alive, somewhere. He was going to the park tonight and he was going to make things right. What did it matter if she wasn't human anymore? Neither was he.

* * *

Bella leant against her bike, hands fiddling with her helmet as she waited for the appointed time. Yes she was a good half hour early but she had learnt that being early for possibly life threatening or at least altering events was usually a good thing. She tensed as the park went silent, eyes searching the dark and then she saw him. She swallowed hard and her hands stilled as he glided out from the dark towards he.

Edward still looked exactly like the boy that had ripped her apart so long ago but there was something different about him. His eyes were the normal butterscotch so she wasn't worried he'd gone back to eating humans but something was definitely different about her first and only real love.

"Bella?" he called softly, hesitantly and she nodded.

"Hello Edward." She answered and suddenly he was in front of her, pulling her into his arms with what sounded like a dry sob.

"I thought I'd lost you forever. Alice had a vision but when I got back to Forks you were gone and then they found your truck..." He was practically babbling and holding her tight enough that she'd have bruises for a few minutes. She pushed at his chest and he reluctantly moved back, his eyes locked on her.

"Why would you go back? You left me, you said..."

"I know and I'm so sorry Bella. I lied to you in the woods. I thought it was best but it wasn't. Please forgive me." She backed away, frowning in confusion. A lie?

"Edward." A calm voice called and her eyes locked on Carlisle's form as he emerged from the darkness. She swallowed down a choked sob of pain at the sight of the man she once considered a second father. Part of her wanted to run to him, beg him to still love her like a daughter and another wanted to scream at him for abandoning her. She did neither.

"Hello Carlisle." She kept her voice steady and firm as the vampire slowly approached while studying her.

"Bella?" He asked. What was it with them and asking that? Surely her scent was still the same? Or had the Quickening changed it? She managed to smile at him.

"It's been a while."

"One hundred years and yet..." He trailed off but she didn't finish his sentence, waiting for the others to show up.

"Bella!" An excited shout came and then she was being almost crushed by the pixie like vampire.  
"I'm so sorry. I've missed you so much!" Alice babbled as she held on tightly.

"Alice...air!" Bella gasped and Alice immediately loosened her grip.

"Oops. Sorry." Alice smiled at her and Bella couldn't help smiling back slightly even as Jasper moved forward to reclaim his wife with a small nod of greeting for her.

"Hey Bella." A grinning Emmett emerged and grabbed her up in a bear hug that threatened to crack several ribs. What was it with them and trying to squish her? And why did they all seem so happy to see her? At least Rosalie looked as bitchy as she'd ever been towards her.

"Bella." A soft voice called and Esme was suddenly in front of her. This time she couldn't hold the sob in as cold arms wrapped her in a gentle hug. Bella gripped Esme back as hard as she could, trying to hide the tremors even though she knew Esme could feel them.  
"Oh Bella." Esme whispered sorrowfully.  
"What did we do to you?" Bella pulled back and Esme let her.

"At the time it would have been kinder if you'd simply killed me." Bella answered flatly and Esme raised a hand to her mouth in horror.  
"You broke me. Charlie and Renee even talked about having me committed to a psych ward for a while." She continued ignoring Alice's cry of protest.  
"Ja....Jacob Black put me back together, he was my own personal sun and then...and then it happened again so I left." She moved back to lean against her bike, not sure she'd be able to remain standing on her own and deliberately looking at anyone but Edward.

"I saw and we looked for you but all that was found was your truck and blood." Alice told her and Bella nodded. How much to tell? She sighed and then pulled out a knife.

"Have you all eaten recently?" She asked and they nodded so she sliced the blade across her palm and then held it up.

"BELLA!" Alice and Edward yelled but she shook her head.

"Watch." She ordered and they did so, staring in shock as sparks of blue lightning spread across the wound. Bella wiped her hand off to reveal unmarked skin.

_TBC..._


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: Don't own._

**Chapter 3**

"_Watch." She ordered and they did so, staring in shock as sparks of blue lightning spread across the wound. Bella wiped her hand off to reveal unmarked skin._

Edward stared at Bella's upraised hand. Where the wound had been there was nothing, not even a faint scar. He'd never seen anything like it though it went a long way to explaining how she was still alive. To be able to heal wounds like that...it would make her a lot harder to kill but how was she still so young looking?

"Bella?" He called softly and she finally looked at him again.

"I am Immortal." She whispered and Edward felt his unbeating heart leap. Immortal? How? Without even thinking about he was moving and then she was in his arms. He touched her face gently, missing her long hair though the new style did suite her.

"How?" He whispered and she smiled sadly.

"I died." Was her answer and he heard Esme and Alice gasp in shock.  
"Immortality is triggered by a violent death and apparently crashing my truck into a tree was enough. I didn't even know I'd died till it was explained later, I thought I'd just passed out on impact." She explained and Edward hugged her close. Bella was stiff in his arms but then he smiled as she relaxed into his embrace, hugging him back.

"I'm sorry, so sorry." He whispered and she pulled back to stare up at him curiously.  
"If I hadn't..." He trailed off and she laughed.

"I was a klutz Edward, a disaster waiting to happen. It would have happened sooner or later. Especially if you had ever agreed to turn me. Apparently it happened once before, even as mortals we can't be turned it just triggers our Immortality."

"So you didn't know about this back in Forks?" Rose asked snidely and Bella rolled her eyes.

"How many times did I end up in hospital? Now I avoid them like the plague. I don't need a doctor noticing how fast I heal, no offence Carlisle."

"None taken." He assured her with a small smile.  
"But perhaps we should take this indoors? It wouldn't do for someone to over hear us and it would be more comfortable for you....unless you are not affected by the cold anymore?" Bella laughed.

"Nope, I'm half freezing over here." Edward's jacket was instantly settled over her shoulders and she gave him a hesitant smile. She was not going to simply forgive him, though living with the guilt of his actions for a hundred years may be punishment enough she was no longer the naive girl she once was. He'd have to prove he was sincere before she considered anything more than friendship.  
"My place or yours?"

"It's getting late, maybe yours would be best, that way we don't have to worry about you having an accident on the way home later." Esme commented and Bella nodded, putting her helmet on.

"Bella what are you doing?"

"Just because an accident won't do me any permanent harm it doesn't mean I'm going to ride without a helmet." She told Edward who was staring at her bike.  
"I'm not a little girl anymore Edward, a lot has changed in the last century." She suddenly grinned and patted the seat behind her.  
"Want a lift?" He stared at her and then slowly got on the bike as she started it.  
"You can follow?" She called and when she received positive answers she gunned it and grinned as she felt Edward grip her waist for balance.

* * *

Bella got herself a can of coke and smiled as Alice and Esme wandered around her apartment, exclaiming over various knickknacks she'd gathered over the years.

"Wow! Nice set up Bells." Emmett called from where he'd found her training room.  
"What's up with the swords?" he asked and she smiled, with a flick of her hand her katana was freed from the sheath hidden inside her coat and she placed it on the table before slipping out of the leather.

"It's kind of necessary these days." She answered with a shrug.

"What do you mean?" Esme asked in alarm and Bella sighed.

"Guess it's time for Immortal 101. Old Man's not going to be happy with me." The last was muttered into her drink but the vampires still heard it.

"Old Man?" Jasper questioned but she waved him off.

"Later part of the story. Might as well all sit, this could take a while." Bella was amazed at how calm she was managing to act through this little reunion, though she knew Jasper would be able to feel otherwise so Edward probably knew as well unless Jasper was blocking him.  
"Okay. Basically Immortals have been around forever, we're just really good at hiding and blending in. Oldest of us is said to be around five thousand years old, give or take a few centuries. All Immortals are foundlings, took a lot of digging but we found some interesting records. Turns out Renee's baby was stillborn so they did a switch on her. We also can't have children, ever, even when we're mortal. We're mortal up until we die a violent death so it is possible for a pre-immortal to die of a heart attack or of old age and stay dead. After we die we never age or get sick and you saw how fast I heal. A bad enough injury can cause temporary death until it's healed. And there's this annoying little cosmic joke called the Game where the main rule is there can be only one. Hence the sword. Because as much as I don't like fighting it beats being killed."

"But you said you're Immortal." Emmett pointed out and Bella sighed, this was the part she hated the thought of sharing.

"The Game has three main rules. Fights can only be one on one; no fighting on Holy Ground and in the end there can be only one. Only way to kill an Immortal...is to separate their head from their shoulders." She finished, refusing to look up as the room went dead silent.

_TBC..._


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: Not mine.  
__  
__Also check out the new story To Change One's Destiny by __Aislynnrose2010. It's good and hey, I'm beta for it._

**Chapter 4**

Bella waited for someone to say something, not wanting to go on till they did. How would they react to what the Game forced her to do in order to survive? She'd lived so long without them and yet she found that their opinions still mattered to her.

"Bella...." Carlisle trailed off, unsure what to say.

"I've never gone looking for a fight, I hate it. But I refuse to lay down and die if Challenged.

_**Hate to say it but I've really lost interest in this story. Therefore it is going up for adoption. Let me know if you want it so I can say who's taken it. Really sorry. **_


	5. Chapter 5

Not an update. Just a note saying this story has been adopted by gothina234 who has told me that from Thursday there should be something posted. Happy reading everyone.


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